Robert W. Baird Trims Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Target Price to $79.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective decreased by Robert W. Baird from $85.00 to $79.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on ALB. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $151.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.30.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $93.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.67. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week high of $153.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.00, a P/E/G ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 176.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $209,333,000 after buying an additional 3,662,117 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 9,108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,440,000 after purchasing an additional 568,563 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth $49,007,000. PGGM Investments lifted its position in Albemarle by 261.6% during the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 413,492 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,473,000 after purchasing an additional 299,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 115.7% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 542,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $51,791,000 after purchasing an additional 290,862 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.